California Brain Injury From Falling Object Attorneys
Brain Injury From Being Struck By Flying or Falling Objects
An impactful blow to the head by a falling or moving object can cause easily cause brain damage and permanent disability. While the majority of brain injuries are caused by the head striking an object, moving and falling objects still contribute to thousands of brain injuries each year. The most common types of falling objects that cause serious injury are equipment, tools and merchandise. The severity of an injury is always related to the laws of physics: the weight of an object, the speed or velocity it traveled, and the height from which it fell. An object as small as a bolt or a small pebble can cause a severe brain injury if it falls from a high enough distance or with enough force.
Detecting Closed Head Injuries from Flying or Falling Objects
Brain injuries can be difficult to detect because skull penetration or fracture is not necessary for a severe brain injury to occur. Brain trauma from a blow to the head by a falling object might show up in diagnostic tests such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computerized tomography (CT) scans, but often such trauma is not visible. Brain injuries frequently occur on a cellular level, without altering the visible tissue density. More elaborate imaging techniques, including single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) are preferred to detecting brain cell metabolism changes. Neurological and behavioral tests are also frequently used to diagnose a brain injury and understand an injuries range of effects.
Brain Injuries from Falling Objects
Injuries from falling objects can happen just about anywhere, from retail stores to construction sites. Construction sites, with rapidly changing working environments and temporary platforms, pose serious risk for falling object injuries to worker. At large outlet and home improvement stores, customers risk severe brain injury when improperly stacked merchandise crashes to the floor. Victims of these types of injuries may have a premises liability claim, if the accident resulted from the negligence of a property owner or occupant. Other examples of accidents resulting in brain injury from a falling object include:
- A television set falling on a child’s head at a day care center.
- A construction worker struck in the head by falling debris.
- A shopper struck in the head by a falling pallet rack in a warehouse store.
- A passerby struck in the head by hand tools dropped from a crane.
Brain Injuries from Moving Objects
Gravity is not the only force that can drive an object to a person’s head. Examples of accidents that have involved brain injuries:
- A baseball fan being struck in the head by a foul ball.
- An automobile driver struck in the head by debris crashing through a windshield on a highway.
- A pedestrian struck in the head by the mirror of a moving truck.
- A tall adult being struck by a ceiling fan hanging too low.
- A child struck by a reversing car.
- A victim of physical violence being struck in the head by a large object.
Brain Injury Victims’ Legal Rights
Severe injuries to innocent store patrons, pedestrians or employees imply negligence. It is not normal for objects to fall, without some sort of negligent or reckless action of another. Victims of brain injuries from falling or crashing objects are entitled to compensation for their injuries. Preserving evidence and establishing liability for a brain injury due to a moving or falling object is an important first step to obtaining damages in a personal injury claim. For more information, or to discuss your situation with a brain injury lawyer at The Brain Injury Legal Help Center, call (800) 610-1892.